The US Anti-Doping Agency’s reasoned decision shows doping by Lance Armstrong after his return from cancer in the 1998 Vuelta a Espana through seven Tour de France wins and his recent comeback years.
They claim that his cancer experience didn’t stop him from doping and that he paid millions of dollars to re-invent himself. They say that Dr. Ferrari was responsible for the Tour de France successes and that they knew each other since 1996. They traced payments to him from 1996-2006 via banking and accounting records from a Swiss company that Ferrari had an interest in. More than a million dollars was paid by Lance and they have email records.
Hamilton supposedly confirmed that, “Dr. Ferrari injected [him] with EPO on a number of occasions.” Hamilton’s first injection of EPO was in Dr. Ferrari’s camper while training at Sestriéres in 1999.
“Tyler Hamilton’s testimony that Dr. Ferrari’s training plan for him included EPO is perfectly consistent with the testimony of each of the other five U.S. Postal Service riders who have testified to working with Dr. Ferrari. In addition, all three of the Italian cyclists who worked with Dr. Ferrari, and whose witness statements are part of the evidence in this case, also confirm Dr. Ferrari’s program involves EPO use,” USADA wrote. Those riders include Leonardo Bertagnolli and Filippo Simeoni.
Ferrari was very involved with the team, and advised Hamilton, Hincapie, Christian Vande Velde, Floyd Landis, Tom Danielson and Kevin Livingston -who was not listed as a witness.
“Multiple handwritten training plans for Kevin Livingston were found in Dr. Ferrari’s files during a search of his residence in the first investigation of Dr. Ferrari. The cyclists who have worked with Dr. Ferrari describe handwritten training plans prepared by Dr. Ferrari, and have testified that he placed notations on their plans to indicate the dates on which they were supposed to use performance enhancing drugs. Multiple asterisks are an evident feature on all of the training plans in the file for Kevin Livingston,” USADA states.
George Hincapie allegedly said Armstrong introduced him in 2000. He was told the annual fee for Ferrari’s services was $15,000.
“Dr. Ferrari told me that the team doctors would assist me with the blood doping program and they did,” Hincapie testified. He worked with Ferrari from 2000 through 2006 while helping Armstrong win his record number of Tours de France.
Ferrari was banned for life by USADA in July after refusing to take his case to arbitration.
Following are reported transactions between Armstrong and Ferrari:
2/21/1996: $14,089.65 CREDITO SWIFT NATIONSBANK NA 1, NATIONS HEADQUA O-LANCE ARMSTRONG AC- XXXXXXX RE F. XXXXXXXX USD 13615 – LESS CO USD 14’089.65 (bank record)
5/9/1996: $28,582.33 CREDITO SWIFT LANCE ARMSTRONG AC/XXXXXXX ./.SPESEN/SKA US 7.32 USD 28’582.33 (bank record)
7/24/1996: $42,082.33 CREDITO SWIFT LANCE ARMSTRONG . LINDA WALLING/RFB/XXXXXXXX/ CABLE ADV AT NOC USD 42’082.33 (bank record)
5/6/2002: $75,000.00 Armstrong L. – US$ 75’000. – (Journal entry)
8/29/2002: $75,000.00 Armstrong L. – US$ 75’000. – (Journal entry)
6/5/2003: $100,000.00 Lance Armstrong US$ 100’000. – (Journal entry)
9/10/2003: $75,000.00 Lance Armstrong US$ 75’000. – (Journal entry)
10/6/2003: $300,000.00 Lance Armstrong US$ 300’000. – (Journal entry)
7/2/2004: $110,000.00 AVIS DE CREDIT DONNEUR D’ORDRE: /LANCE ARMSTRONG XXXXXXXXX AUSTIN TEXAS 78703 USD 110,000.00 (bank record)
3/29/2005: $100,000.00 Avviso di accredito D’ORDINE DI LANCE ARMSTRONG USD 100 000.00 (bank record)
12/31/2006: $110,000.00 Lance Armstrong US$ 110’000. – (Journal entry)
Total $1,029,754.31
